Metallic curtain



A. MOTTEAU.

METALLIC CURTAIN. APPLICATION m55 Ammo. 191s.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

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A. IVIOTTEAU.

METALLIC CURTAIN. APPLlcAUoN FILED Aue. 10, |918.

.Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

3 SHEE'I'S-SHEET 2.

Einln- Mil.

I Ein- @JMW-l fluyen,

A. MOTTEAU.

METALLIC CURTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED Aue. 1o, 1913.

Patented Apr. 12, 1,921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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NOHRIS PETERS. WC.. LITHU., WASHINGTON, D4 C 50 In both figuresonly a vertical side por- UNITED lSTATES ANTIME IvIorTEAU, or BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA.

METALLIC CURTAIN.

specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 12, V'1921.

Application led August 10, 1918. Serial No. 249,263. v

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, AN'IIME Mo'rTnAU, citizen of the French Republic, residing at No. 126() Garay street, Buenos Aires, Argentina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements vin Metallic Curtains, of which the following isV aspecification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in metallic curtains and especially in metallic curtains of the type which are capable of being wound up around an aXis and its object is to provide for a metallic curtain of a simple and economical construction, which is of a very light weight and which possesses many advantages over the heretofore known types.

The invention has also for its object to provide special means for the articulate connection of the slats, said means allowing or not, according to circumstances, a certain free play between the adjacentr slats.

A further object of my invention consists in the provision of means to avoid oxidationy of the edges of the slats, due to the friction of one against the other during the opera# tion of the curtain.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of slat, by which I obtain a maximum of resist-ancev without increasing the thickness of the walls" of the slat.

This invention has also in view the pro-v vision of means by which the curtain may be used as a hre protective curtain.

' This invention has still other objects in view which will appear from the following specification and which will be hereinafter specifically claimed. i

In order that my invention may be clearly understood and easily carried into practice, reference will ybe made now to the accompanying drawings showing several embodiments ofthe invention, and by way of eX- ample. v" x Y In the saiddrawings,

Figure 1 is a'front view of a metallic curtain according to my present invention, in its closed position. Y Y y Fig.` 2 lshows the same curtain partly' opened or woundup. f

tion ofthe curtain has been illustrated.

Fig. 3 shows onan enlarged scale a front view of the side end of one of theslats.

' Fig. 4 is atop view of the said slat.

Fig. 5 isa view corresponding to Fig. 3

of an alternative construction of of the slat.

6 is a top view of the same. F 1g; 7 shows on an enlarged scale a vertithe end Fig. 13a shows the loop of a slat, partly,`

broken away and with a hinge according to Flgs. l2 and 13 in position.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of ka protective eye' let for the aperture in the loop of the slat.

Fig. 15 shows a preferred form ofprotective eyelet before being bent in position. F 1g. 16 is a central longitudinal section through Vthe loop of the slat, showing the eyelet of Fig. 15 partly in position.

,60V cal cross section through two ofthe adj acent Fig. 17 is a similar View with the eyelet` in position. p

Fig. 18 is a plan view of a protective sheet for the free edges of the slat.' I

Fig. 19 zisajsimilar view to Fig. 7 in which an alternative connecting means is" employed. Y

Fig. 2O showsanother embodiment of the invention in which the hinges have been substituted by a continuous strap or band and where a constant space for air and light is left between each two slats.

Fig. 21 shows a modification of vFig.,20 in which'special means are provided in order that the curtain may be used as a fire protective screen.

Similar characters of reference indicate same or like parts throughout the said figures.

It. must be clearly understood thatl'although special reference has been' madein the drawings and willbe made in the following descriptionto that type of metallic curtains which are capable of beingrolled up, the invention may be also applied to all other types of curtains ,without departing from the scope of the inventionas herein# after claimed.

According to the invention the metallic curtain is formed of a series' of slats 1 which are conveniently connected with each other. Each of the said slats is constituted by a metal sheet bent in 'an U-shape, with the loop of the U at the upper end and the free edges downward. In order to give to the said slats a maximum of resistance,.with. out materially 'increasing the thickness of the sheet, it has been found that ribs must be formed on the surface of the said slat, but such ribs must V'not protrude outward on account of the vfriction that would beset up and due .to the fact that in vthese circumstances the coat of paint would ffall and facilitate in this way the oxidation @of rthe metal sheet. Therefore Ihaveound it moreY convenient to ormalong theslat .aseries of channeled longitudinal grooves 2, 2,f2,2a", which are preferably symmetrical kin order that they may oppose each other lwhen the metal sheet has been bent into the Z.1J-shape, as may be seen from the accompanying drawings. The metal sheet, previous toits bending, is metallized orcoated with .paint on both faces, so that, there being `no friction between theslats, the sheet lmay be kept free from oxidation. Y v

Once bent yinto the U-shape,fbentiiat metal sheets 3 are introduced at ithe ends oic each slat such sheets being usedas a guide which is capable of running between fixed guiding plates' 4 mounted insidejthe frame 4', as. shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

As shown-in Figs. 5 and G, thewindow or door frame 4 may bealso used as a guide for the ends of the slats, in which case plates 3 may be omitted or not.

The connection between the slats-may take place in different ways, several of which have been shown by way o illustration.

One of the preferred forms consists in usingV as a connecting means a hinge which is iixed at one end to one of ythe slats, at any convenient point of the same, the butt endjof the hinge being free to play within the-adjacent slat. Y

Figs. 8 and 9 show one or' the systems of hinges which maybe used according to the vpresent invention as a connecting means betweentwo adjacent slats. The said hinge consists of a metal sheet 5 which is bent in two and leaves a round space in fthe middle, said space tightly inclosing va butt 7. The butt 7 is mountedV within the loop of a slat,

'through an orice which is previouslyfmade in the same, as may be seen from Fig. 7. The strap of the hinge is iixed at any convenient point of the upper slat 1, as for instance, by means of rivets 8 orfthe like. The

butt 7 of the hinge is free to movewithin the slat 1. Y Y

Figs. 1'0 -and 11 show another form of hinge which is substantially vlike ythe one just described, but has at the sides of its strapr shoulders 6which limit the movement of the hinge and are capable of resting on the loop of the slat, around the orifice of shown lno contact is possible between the free lower edges of each slat and the loop of the adjacent one, and the fall of paint and consequent oxidation of the metal is avoided.

Another embodiment of hinge is shown in Figs. 12 and 13. `Thisconsists oa piece of casting .which is providedl with side extensions 6' replacing the -shoulders 6 of the above embodiment. Said lateral extensions c 6 have a greater length than the upper aperture of'theislat, s0 that they may rest on the loopof the slator on its -eyelet when the curtain is in its Y'lowermo'st position. Therefore, lno direct contact between 'the slats is possible in this'case' In order that the edges of lthe upper orilice of the slat `be protected-against friction with the hinge 4and also from contact with the adjacent slat non-oxidizablemetallic-eyelets 10 may be weldedor otherwise -fixed to the said loop of the slat 1. `Figs. -14V and E15 show two or' thepreferred forms of such eyelet. It consists of a metal sheet preferably of Vbronze or brass, in 'which according to the form represented in Fig. -14 two-transverse cutsand La longitudinal cut have been made. The tongues formed'by fthese cuts orice, as may be seen from iFigs. 16 and 17.

lVhen hinges according to Figs. 8 and9 are used it is advisable to protect :the lower free edges of the slats by means of a metal sheet at the points where the hinges are used, as may be seenfrom Fig. 7. This Vprotective sheet is shown in Fig. 18. It consists of a metal blank having a centralV body portion 11 with corresponding oriiices for the rivets 8 and two enlarged end 'portions 12 which are bent over fthe free edges 'of the slat. The metal sheet is bent yand mounted on the hinge, as shown inthe said Fig. 7. Y

Fig. 19'shows an alternative fformof con# nection vbetween ithe slats. V'The hin-ge 5 Iis substituted in. this case by a single .metal plate. 16 which is iixedtoa wing 13 `:formed the rolling upand unrolling-of'thevcurtain Said elongated orifice is shown in 15.

In the embodiment as shown in Fig. 20 all connecting hinges have been omitted and vthe slats are connected by means of a conto the size and to the weight of the saidv curtain.

The said bands or strips are fixed to the upper loops of the slats by means of rivets 17, in a similar manner to that shownl in Fig. 19 and described with reference to the same and at the Same time the strips are also fixed at the central part of each of the slats by means of a second rivet 18, the strips or' bands being provided with elongated oriices 19 for the said rivets in order to allow of the necessary play for the rolling up of the curtain.

The metallic curtain'according to Fig. 20 may be used as an antire curtain, as in the embodiment of Fig. 21. A small rope of asbestos or any like non-combustible material 2O is formed and fixed in any convenient manner in the space between each pair of adjacent slates. This together with the air chamber formed within each of the slats makes the curtain as a whole a very convenient anti-fire device.

In the embodiments shown in Figs. 20 and 21 the lower edges of each one ofthe slats may terminate in different horizontal planes, the outer edges being conveniently lower, in order Ato avoid the entrance of rain or the like within the slats of the cura tain, as may be easily understood.y This is specially desirable in this type of curtains where there is always a free space between the slats.

In the alternative constructions of Figs. 19, 2O and 21, the edges of the apertures in the loop of the slat may be protected by means of a sheet of a non-oxidizable metal, such as bronze, brass or the like, which has been shown in two alternativeembodiments at 21 and 22. Y

It is obvious that many changes. and alterations may be introduced without departing from the scope of the present invention. The slats, for instance, vmay be only a part of the curtain, vthe rest being constituted by an ordinary undulated sheet or the like. Y

Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my lsaid invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. An all-metal curtain comprising a series of superposed U-shaped, sheet metal links arranged with their loop portions upward, the 'sides of each link being formed at diametrically-opposite points with inwardly extending parts, and the loop vof each'link being formed with an aperture, connecting means between the successive links arranged interiorly thereof and extendingfrom each link through the aperture in the loop portion of the next lower link; and fastening devices inserted through the saidinwardly extending parts of the links and through the adjacent portions of said connecting means forA securing the latter immediately to the sides of said links.

2. An all-metalcurtain, comprising a series of superposed, U-shaped, sheet metal links arranged with their loop portions upward, the sides of each link being formed at diametrically-opposite points with inwardly extending parts, and the loop of each link being formed with an aperture,

connecting means between the successive Vlinks arranged interiorly thereof and extending fro'm each link through the aperture in the loop portion of the next lower link; fastening means inserted through the l said inwardly extending parts of the links and through the adjacent portions of said connecting means for securing the latter immediately to the sides, of said links;

'zoY

and protective meansv constructedy of nonoxidiaableV sheet metal fitting conformably over and secured to the'loop portion of each link and interposed between the opposite faces of said connecting means and the adjacent edges ofthe next higher links, to

avoid oxidation due to frictional contact between said links and said connecting means. In testimony whereof I afIix my signature.

. .ANTIME MOTTEAU. 

